Man-Thing: a tale of the swampland
by ultiblade
Summary: The Man-Thing was once a legend, his stories rare and widespread. But the people in the swamp can coexist with him, if they know how


The stranger

Well hello stranger, don't see many people out in these parts now days. With the trip you just took I'm assuming you came to see little old me. Happens now and again, people lookin' for the Man-Thing eventually come around here lookin' fer me. Well I guess yall' can take a seat over there and we can shoot the breeze fer a bit. It's a long tale but I guess I got me some time till night rolls round.

It all starts years ago when I was but a young boy lookin' to live off my own square of land out here in the swamps. Even then the legend was around, you'd hear talk of the Man-Thing back then he had a lotta names different to those natives and to those voodoo people who spend their time out here. Back then it was just that, words. None those people who talked about the creature were much credible sources and me being a young boy back then decided against the warnings. Was fine for the first couple years, built me a fine little shack, lived off the land easily enough. These lands are very fertile and easy to survive as long as you don't make 'em angry. Tha' was till' till I started seein' the gators.

Before they used to show up every once in a while, some mornin's right here on this very porch. Then little by little they'd stop comin' round. Figured they'd finally lost curious nature and decided to let me be. Truth was, it was somthin' else that took a curious eye t'me.

I first saw a print out near the dock. Big thing, huge print and no idea what it was. 'course I never considered the beast, cause in my mind was just a legend. Figured it musta been a bear or somthin' wanderin around the swamps fer some strange reason. So I kinda just let it be and went along my way. Day or two later the vines kept creepin' up my shack on the north, strangest thing that side never see's the sun so vines creepin' up confused me to death. But just kept trimming em' down every mornin' and forgot about it, turned into another daily chore. Then weeks later I spotted three dead gators 'bout a mile south. Shoulda just left it, ya' know? But couldn't help myself had to go take a look.

First thing I noticed, no marks. Now poachers and people huntin' gators usually hunt fer the hides some take the meat too but these bodies were just crunched. Like I never seen before no bullet holes no cuts, it was like they just got thrown around till theys necks snapped. I had thought back to the bear but even then there'd be some claw marks somewhere right? So I left em be but kept thinkin' back to them in the nights when the winds blew or the rain tattered on my ol' tin roof.

Weeks later I decided to finally go ask some my neighbors out around if'n theyed seen anything. Now some of the Cajuns out around just told me leave it be an' forget about it. Finally I went to one of them voodoo wiches out in the deep swamps. Scary ol' croon she was, missin teeth and had drawn all sorts of strange symbols all over her body. Heck, when I brought my boat up to her little shack she was nek'id as any animal runnin' round a circle of little white rocks screaming all sorts of strange words.

Will say it was a long trip and I had to bring some peace offerings out to her so she would tell me anything. So we went through the normal squabble talkin' 'bout gods and demons and other blather. Finally she wanted to know why I was seein' her. An' I told her 'bout the vines and the gators. An' she spooked me good that night, I'll tell you. The legends had changed since I been out in the swamp. The Man-thing had been looked for by the government a couple times and even a couple of those capes had been seen out here. She told me about how it was some guardian of the swamp and had been out in the world a couple'a times too. She said he had been in New York City of all places and almost took the place down. What she told me next probably is what saved my life though. She said if ya don't fear it, it wont hurt ya. But if you have even the slightest bit o' fear in ya, He will attack an' there be no forces of this world that could kill him. She told me that the vines creepin' up my shack theys were there cause the monster was standing there at night, he caused life with his good voodoo or something like that.

Anyhow her story lasted most the night and I left early in the morn. That ol' witch had spooked me good an I wanted to get home early to try an' fig'r out what to do about the monster watchin' me sleep. Scariest thought that, someone watching you sleep, sure they make it out to be all cute in some stories but when it gets down to it those thoughts are what chills my bones. An' when I showed up the place was overrun with vines. Whole place, just covered from base all way up from my tin roof. It looked like a damned tree had eaten my house overnight.

You better bet I was spooked, was about ready to take on back out to wyomin' set up with my family and abandon my little flat out here. I was scared, scared in a way that a man considers death the easy way out. But against my own thoughts I took a woodcuttin' axe out and cut my way back in my home. Strangest thing: nothing was touched. Figgred if the monster had wanted me out the place was gunna be in pieces, but was only the outside had anything. Like the monster had circled my home from top t' bottom all night and the vines just kept on following him up and up.

So I had made my decision, I was going out. Wasn't gunna deal with no damned monster fer rest o' my life, An' sure as hell not gunna get killed by some "guardian of the swamp". By time I had packed up the sun was settin'. Now it's to dangerous to leave dead of night, even without knowin' a monster is out there ready to eat ya up. Had to set up there fearin my life till I could get out in the mornin'. There's never any way to sleep like that, so damn scared for yer life. Just sat there, fireplace burnin' watchin the flames grow and shrink to embers.

Then I heard it, at one of my vine crusted windows. Something was moving them apart. An' my minds going crazy knowing whats coming. I hear a hiss from the other side and the vines come tearin' from the window. Hiss growin' louder an' nothing I could do but sit an' stare watin' for my death.

It was the eye that got me, red an' glowin' brighter than any ember I had ever seen, put my damn fire to shame that glow, Looked to me like I was looking into the pits of hell those eyes. It finally with one swoop busted through the wall of green, takin' half the wall with it. I knew I was done for, didn't have no gods to pray for just sittin' an waiting to head into hell and this beast ready to be my reaper. I hear the hiss again from the Man-thing an' it got angry, stared at me like I was causing it pain. An' those two last seconds I had ticked away like years.

I was trapped in my hut beast staring me down an in those seconds a bubble came to the surface of the beast. All I could look at, this bubble, right under its eye. An' when it popped, the Man-thing charged. Didn't take more than one swing to bust me out the hole it came in on. Back handed me right out into the swampland like an' old broken boot he had hit me. An I landed and just laid there, expectin' my doom right there an' you know what? I decided I was going out might as well accept it. My body relaxed, could feel a couple broken ribs but I just sat an' looked up to the sky. Looked up and wondered if'n I would see angels take me down to hell.

Soon enough the Man-Thing walked into my vision and looked at me for what seemed hours. Then, just walked away. Can you believe that? The damn monster walked away like he didn't know what to do with me.

Took till sunrise till I finally fell 'sleep, was 'bout noon when I woke up feelin' all sorts of hurt. But I got up an' dragged my carcass to my still overgrown porch, lit up the pipe and tried to figgr' out what to do. Took till after dinner, biggest pain in the butt let me tell ya, till I had decided. This was my land, took me nearly four years to get this far and I wasn't gunna just get up an' leave! Don't care if he just gave me a warning shot or not I had survived and I was damned gunna try again!

So's I cut my way to my chair here, sat down with my axe and was gunna wait him out. Coarse' I fell asleep within an hour or so. Woke up in the dead of night when even the bugs had given up and gone to bed. Tried to look around an' it took a minute for my eyes to wake up along with my young body. An' there, sittin' about six feet in front of me was the Man-Thing. Just sittin' watchin' me like my cousins used to watch television. Lookin' like I was the most interestin' person in the world.

So I decided if it was my last night, I was gunna have one last smoke. So I grabbed my pipe filled her up and sat back an' me an' this monster watched each other till I was done. An' when I was done, I laid down my axe, stood up an just gave the monster a nod half expectin' it to come give me another hit. But it just sat there, the eyes dimmer but just as red as the night before, an' I hobbled back into my shack an' fell asleep.

Well that's all I'm gunna tell you today, friend. That's all most people ever wanna know. That was all back about fifteen years or so ago. I have seen him from time to time, comes an' sits with me some nights. Even carved him a nice pipe, course he just looked at it and had no idea what to do with it. Now its gettin' late and these old bones need more sleep then a young'n like yourself. So you best be off. If'n you ever want to come back an' hear more of an old swamp man's stories yer welcome too it. But as for me I got stuff gots need doing. An have yer self a good one, friend. Don't let the Man-Thing get ya on your way home to yer nice soft bed.


End file.
